SATB (unison male voices),Organ. Duration: 2½ minutes. Text: George Wither. Written in 1986 for Ruddington Methodist Chapel Choir . A simple but touchingly effective carol in 3 parts.
SATB a cappella. Duration: 37 minutes. Commissioned by Gerry Mattock and Beryl Calver–Jones and first performed at the Bath Festival on 3rd June 2004 by Bath Camerata, conducted by Nigel Perrin. As well as the 12th century Latin text, the piece sets part of the Jewish funerary prayers Kaddish in Aramaic, a blessing from the Talmud Babli in Hebrew, and part of the Muslim funerary rite Salaat al–Janaaza in Arabic. A deeply felt setting of this mediaeval poem by a modern master of choral writing, this major work presents a powerfully relevant view of the Crucifixion story.
SATB a cappella. Duration: 10 minutes. Extracted from the Stabat MaterGZ 019. An ideal programme choice for Passiontide services or concerts. The motets may performed separately or as a set.
“. . . mindblowing, contrasting moments of awesome power coupled with poignant emotion. . . ”
Five songs for unaccompanied choir on poems by Wendy Cope.
Reading Scheme
Some People
I’ll be nice
Verse for a Birthday Card
Lonely Hearts
SATB a cappella.
Duration: 10 minutes. Commissioned by Soundstreams Canada and first performed on 14th November 2004 at the Metropolitan United Church in Toronto by University Voices, conducted by Robert Sund. Witty and quite saucy fun – the mini–fugue to the words "Some people like sex more than others" gives an indication of the overall flavour – and a brilliant contrast to this composer’s Stabat Mater, written earlier the same year.
SATB choir, SATB soloists, Organ. Duration: 8½ minutes. Commissioned by Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis, and first performed there on 19th December 2004 by Plymouth Congregational Church Choir, conducted by Philip Brunelle. Swayne’s Magnificat I, written in 1982, is in the repertoire of choirs all over the world. This new setting (again in Latin) is simpler, being scored for four–part choir, supported by organ. But it is just as dramatic, with four full–blooded solo parts.
SA, Organ. Duration: 2½ minutes. Text: traditional. Composed in December 2004 for Ruddington Methodist Chapel Choir. A simple and evocative setting of traditional Yorkshire words, in which gently falling snow symbolises peace and renewal.
SATB a cappella. Duration: 2¾ minutes. Composed in autumn 2003 for the choir of Clare College, Cambridge. A contrapuntal yet beautifully singable setting of this medieval hymn to the Incarnation.
SATB choir, SATB soloists, Organ. Duration: 5¼ minutes. Commissioned by Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis, and first performed there on 6th February 2005 by the choir of Plymouth Congregational Church, conducted by Philip Brunelle. A companion–piece to Giles Swayne’s Magnificat II GZ 044, this new setting – also in Latin – stresses the tender, valedictory nature of Simeon’s greeting.
SATB choir, Organ. Duration: 9 mins. A simple liturgical setting of the Eucharist, using the Order One version of the text.
Eminently singable by a good parish choir. Despite its relative simplicity, this setting contains much of the punchy
rhythmic writing familiar from Swayne’s other choral music.
Treble voices (unison & two parts), organ. Duration: 2½ minutes each. Commissioned by the choir of Leeds Catholic Cathedral. The words of Panis angelicus are by Thomas Aquinas (1225–74); those of Anima Christi are at least as early: the first surviving copy is found in a document dating from 1334, but the prayer was long known as the Prayer of St Patrick, and may have been written in seventh century Ireland. These two settings are strongly contrasted: the first is canonic and highly concentrated; the second is agitated, and has the incantatory mood of a magic spell..
SSATB choir a cappella. Duration: 4¼ minutes. Christmas carol, commissioned by the choir of Clare College, Cambridge for the 60th birthday of their conductor Tim Brown. First performed in the Herz–Jesu Kirche, Münich, on 13th December 2006. Words anonymous, 15th century. A beautiful and quite elaborate setting of this much–loved carol
Treble voices, piano. Duration: 3¾ minutes. A tuneful and eminently singable new Christmas carol by this distinguished British composer and pianist, with words by Stephen Holmes, Vicar of Winton in Bournemouth. It will be premiered in two concerts given in November 2007 by the combined choirs of Bournemouth schools, conducted by Peter Hunt, as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations in the Pavilion Theatre. It will also be recorded on DVD in the composer’s arrangement for small instrumental ensemble.
Children’s voices in 3 parts (unaccompanied). Duration: ¾ min. A brilliant little round for children’s voices which adapts and immortalises the street–cry used by children collecting for fireworks before Guy Fawkes Day.
Tenor and Piano. Duration: 10 minutes. Commissioned by the British Music Society. 1st performed 23rd Feb. 1980 by Edwin Rolles (tenor) and John Blood (piano) at Goldsmiths’ College, London. A delightful sequence of songs vividly evoking the joys and sorrows of railway travel.
Tenor, Piano and Wind Quintet. Duration: 10 minutes. This lively arrangement of GZ 021 by the composer was commissioned by the Viente Ensemble, who gave its first performance at the St Neots Spring Music Festival on 17th May 1980 with Edwin Rolles (tenor) and John Blood (piano).
Prologue (piano solo)
1. ’Tis true, ’tis day (Donne)
2. Persuasions to enjoy (Carewe)
3. Take, O take those lips away (Shakespeare)
4. So we’ll go no more a–roving (Byron)
5. When I have seen by Time’s fell hand (Shakespeare)
4. Echo’s lament to Narcissus (Ben Jonson)
Tenor and Piano. Duration: 20 minutes. Written in 1965 and first performed that year by Peter Birts (tenor) and Giles Swayne (piano) at Trinity College, Cambridge. A youthful work, pulsating with adolescent sexual longing.
Mezzo–soprano and String Quartet. Duration: 5 minutes. First performed at St. Michael and All Angels Church, Barton Turf, Norfolk, on 18th June 2005 by Ruth Peel and the Solstice Quartet. Words traditional and by the composer. A tender and witty celebration of the marriage vows, ideal for a musical wedding.Click to view text
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Vocal score, miniature study score and (4) parts: £16.00 ORDER
Piano. A set of contrasted pieces for children of all ages. Duration: 15 minutes. Grades 3–5 technical level. Composed in 1974, and left unprinted for 27 years, it was published to great acclaim by Gonzaga Music in 2002. The first performance of the complete set was on 9th November 2003, in a recital by Giles Swayne at Abbey Road Concerts, London.
Flea–bites
The band
Mysterious lake
Posh Lady dancing
Posh Lady walking
Posh Lady swimming
Mousetrap (a sad tail)
Frosty morning
Smelly old cat
Nasty little dog
Ice–cream van
Wet Sunday afternoon
Big fat policeman
Dodo’s lullaby
Ophelia’s lullaby
Ice–cream van(no. 11 of Scrap–book) is a Grade 3 exam piece in the
Associated Board syllabus (List C), and appears in the Grade 3 album published by ABRSM Publishing
"I thoroughly enjoyed looking through Scrap–book. What a lovely way to introduce the young to the delights of 20th century music! Giles Swayne’s pieces are not only witty and amusing – they teach aspiring musicians to characterise. The player is invited to play roles and to identify with people, objects and situations. A publication seems long overdue."
Piano. 12 pieces for children of all ages. Duration: 12 minutes. Grades 2–4 technical level. Each piece is a musical picture inspired by postage stamps (and a pillar box) from various countries around the world. Commissioned by Gonzaga Music to celebrate the company’s formation in 2002. First performed by Giles Swayne on 9th November 2003, in a recital at Abbey Road Concerts, London.
ICELAND: Snow dance
SUDAN: Desert caravan
AUSTRIA: Wonky Waltz
LUNDY: Sea mists
UKRAINE: Rustic wedding
GREECE: The Acropolis
LILLIPUT: First day cover
AUSTRALIA: The lyre–bird
MEXICO: Jumping beans
RUSSIA: Bolshoi drama
GREAT BRITAIN: Hurrah! Mr. Trollope invents the Pillar–box
SICILY: Tarantella mafiosa
Stamp–albumwas chosen as a set book
by the 2006 Glasgow Music Festival
Piano. Duration: 6½ minutes. In three eminently playable movements: a zappy Allegro, a haunting Arioso, and a refreshingly exuberant Vivace. Grade 6–7 technical level. First performed on 19th June 1980 by John Blood in a recital for the British Music Society at Chelsea College, London.
“This is my first sighting of the Gonzaga Teaching Series, a collection whose ‘teaching as entertainment’ philosophy is underlined by companion titles advertised on the back cover (Ten Terrible Tunes, Vegetable Fiesta, and so on, reviewed in recent issues of MT). This Sonatina by John Blood (series co–composer with Giles Swayne) is equally diverting, being succinct (its three movements take just five–and–a–half minutes) and witty, testing out your interpretative skills in an idiom between, say, Kabalevsky and the Hindemith of the second sonata.. Pitched ast Grades 6–7, it is effectively written and easier than it sounds (its stretches of a tenth may be circumvented) – with bitonal moments ready to tease any nervous grannies within earshot. It has waited a long time for publication since its premiere (1980), and I highly recommend it.”
Piano. Duration: 3 minutes. A gentle and lyrical first movement is followed by a contrasting quirky and energetic dance. Grade 5–6 technical level. Composed in 1972. First performed on 19th June 1980 by John Blood in a recital for the British Music Society at Chelsea College, London.
Piano. Duration: 7½ minutes. A sequence of five extracts from the 1725 Anna Magdalena Book, in a witty reworking for piano. Technical level: Diploma. An ideal recital piece.
Piano. Ten contrasting pieces which encourage the young pianist to express moods and characters of many kinds. Although technically easier (Grades 2–4) they are similar in approach to the same composer’s Scrap–book GZ 001. The sixth piece, Whistling Tune, is included in Spectrum 4, an international collection of miniatures for piano, compiled by Thalia Myers and published by the Associated Board under licence from Gonzaga Music.
Piano Grade 1. Ten pieces depicting a basket of fresh and varied
vegetables, including a downcast cabbage, an elegant French bean out for a
Sunday stroll, two chirpy Spanish onions, and even an exploding turnip.
This rewarding and picturesque collection forms an excellent introduction to the same
composer’s Stamp–albumGZ 002
Piano. Duration: 2¾, 2¾, and 2 mins. The first three of a series of piano pieces which will be written over the next few years. The premiere was given by Mizuka Kano at Lake District Summer Music festival on 11th August 2007.
Organ. Duration: 29 minutes. Commissioned by Cambridge Summer Recitals and Dartington International Summer School. The first part of this powerful evocation of Christ’s journey to Calvary. Ideally to be performed as a complete sequence of 14 pieces (with Book II GZ 045); but pieces may also be performed individually. The complete cycle was premiered by David Titterington at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, on 18th November 2006.
Organ. Duration: 26 minutes. Commissioned by Cambridge Summer Recitals and Dartington Summer School. The second book of this important addition to the repertoire. The complete cycle was premiered by David Titterington at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, on 18th November 2006.
Organ. Duration: 5 minutes. 12 short variations on "Ten green bottles", tumbling chromatically and dramatically downwards through the octave, and culminating in a 5–part fugue in the manner of JS Bach. An entirely frivolous organ involuntary, guaranteed to make you laugh. Environmentally friendly, too. It was first performed at Christ Church, Oxford on 27th July 2005 by Kevin Bowyer, who also played it at recitals in Wells, Durham and Truro cathedrals in August.
Harpsichord. Duration: 23 minutes. Grade 6–8 technical level. An instrumental drama which portrays the events, settings and characters of the Shakespeare play. In ten contrasted pieces which skilfully exploit the harpsichord’s varied registers, we hear Macbeth’s encounter with the witches, his dark broodings, and Lady Macbeth’s wily powers of persuasion – an increasingly manic Valse diabolique. The growing mayhem eventually leads to the appearance of Banquo’s ghost, and Macbeth’s defeat at the hands of Macduff. Vivid, spooky and exciting.
Oboe and Bassoon. Duration: 8 minutes. Written for members of the Viente Ensemble and first performed by them in 1979. A youthful and light–hearted set of short pieces. Popular with wind quintets, who frequently include it in their programmes to create variety (and a breather).
Clarinet and Piano. Duration: 8 minutes. 4 movements. Written in January 1988 for Geraldine Allen and Roger Vignoles.
Effective recital pieces which end with a riotous and demonic dance to the god of Mammon. Although designed to be played as a set, they also work well when performed separately.
Flute, Horn and Bassoon. Duration: 10 minutes. This cheerful and charming confection has been played many times by the Viente Ensemble, who commissioned it in 1982. It is a useful ingredient in wind quintet programmes, since it allows two of the group to have a breather. It was first performed in Harlow on 24th February 1983.
Oboe and Piano.
Duration: 7 minutes. Technical level: Grades 6–7. Three contrasting movements: a vigorous Allegro deciso, a lyrical Andante espressivo containing a passionate central section, and a rustic Vivace e giocoso dance for the finale. Written in 1983, and dedicated to Tina Cumming, it has been frequently used by students as an end–of–term concert piece.
Bass Oboe or Tenor Saxophone, Piano. Duration: 15 minutes. A large four–movement sonata, commissioned in 1981 by Richard Smith, then principal oboist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. A slow, enigmatic first movement is followed by a mechanistic scherzo, a lyrical adagio, and a fast finale which builds to an intense climax. It was first performed by Richard Smith (bass oboe) and John Lindsay (piano) at a British Music Society concert in Chelsea College on 22nd April 1982. This edition includes an alternative part for Tenor Saxophone.
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GZ 052
Burgers
John Blood
Flute & Piano. Eight wry and witty pieces for flute, Grades 1–2, which, while putting the young player through a series of useful and exciting technical and musical challenges, bid an impudent farewell to the high–risk, low–nutrition craze for fast food. Flute part edited by Philippa Davies.
THE ROYAL DELUXE:
Regal procession
HAGGIS HALF–POUNDER:
Midnight revel
KANGAROO QUARTER–BOUNDER:
Lazy sun–dance
THE MINI, MINI–BURGER:
Fast food scherzo
THE WESTMINSTER SPECIAL:
Thames nocturne
CRUNCHY COCKROACH:
Scuttle dance
THE BURGHERS OF CALAIS:
Lament
CHEF’S WHOPPER:
Knees–up
“This book contains eight lively, entertaining pieces for students of Grade 1 to 2 standard. The titles are brilliant: Haggis Half–Pounder, Kangaroo Quarter–Bounder, Crunchy Cockroach, Chef ’s Whopper and so on. The music is great fun, with interesting piano parts to match.”
Clarinet & Piano. Eight seafaring pieces for clarinet, Grades 2–3, which play on the names of knots and hitches (real and invented) to create a sparkling variety of mood and character which will stimulate the musicianship and technical skill of the aspiring clarinettist.
Flute
& Piano. Duration: 9 minutes. Grades 6–7. Four pieces offering a melodious and flautistical view of the Adam and Eve story. Swayne’s mastery of the flute, familiar from HAVOC, Winter Solstice Carol, and the virtuoso Canto for flute (all published by Novello) is here put to excellent use for budding young players. These pieces, which introduce the player to such things as flutter–tonguing and harmonics, have been edited for the flute by renowned flautist Philippa Davies, to whom they are dedicated.
The Gardener of Eden
Adam and Eve and Pinch–me
Paradise Stomp
Forbidden Flute
“Giles brings to these delightful pieces a great understanding of the instrument and a wonderfully fresh approach. Although
making demands on the player, he adds that particular quality of fun which is always present in his music. They are little gems, which everyone will enjoy as much as I have.”
Philippa Davies
“. . . challenges of metre and simple extended techniques within a highly enjoyable and accessible idiom.”
Alto saxophone and piano. Duration: 8½ min. A set of variations on a theme by Leonardo da Vinci, who as a young man in 1480s Florence was a popular singer and also played the lira da braccio (a posh version of the folk fiddle). This scrap of love–song is written in one of his notebooks. The words (encoded as musical notes) are “Amore la sola mi fa remirare, la sola mi fa sollecita”. [she alone makes me dream of love, she alone makes excites me]. This piece was commissioned by Hannah Marcinowicz with funds provided by the RVW Trust and the Britten–Pears Foundation, and was first performed by Hannah Marcinowicz and Giles Swayne on 8th January 2008 in a Park Lane Group Young Artists concert at the Purcell Room, London.
Park Lane Group Young Artists, Purcell Room, London,Tuesday 8th January 2008
“This was a memorable first performance of Leonardo’s Dream. Swayne has composed seven aptly enigmatic and airborne variations on a theme discovered in one of Leonardo’s 1486 notebooks: a sweet melody in mirror–writing, a little puzzle of pictures, words and notation. He responds to it with jazzy nonchalance, with trillings, leaps and bumps shared between saxophone and piano, and always with a witty investigation of the quintessence of the melody and the essence of each instrument.”
Hilary Finch, The Times 10th January 2008
“Hannah Marcinowicz . . . also played the premiere of Giles Swayne’s Leonardo’s Dream – variations on a theme by Leonardo da Vinci . . . a pithy work that included a visit to a nightclub – cued with real swing – and notable for giving an abundance of colour and expression to the sax. Leonardo’s Dream should be a mandatory choice next time a saxophonist is invited to play in a PLG concert.”
Trumpet and Piano. Duration: 4 minutes. Written in 1973 for Christopher Blood, who performed it to win the Manns Brass Prize at the RCM the same year. First public performance in revised version, 1982 BMS concert, Chelsea College – Christopher Blood (Tpt) John Blood (piano).
A showy concert piece: slow introduction, then fast and jazzy.
Trumpet and Piano. Duration: 15 minutes. Commissioned by the Earl and Countess of Harewood and first performed by Alison Balsom (Tpt) and Iain Farrington (Piano) at Harewood House, near Leeds, on 28th November 2003. London premiere at the Wigmore Hall on 9th December, 2003. A virtuoso concert–piece for both instruments, this important addition to the repertoire stems from a phrase used by Lorca about the nature of performance. It is in two movements: a jazzy blues, and a dreamy finale subtitled Sueño (Dream).
Trumpet and Piano. Duration: 10 minutes. This arrangement of the 1787 piano Rondo highlights its affinities with Don Giovanni (written the same year) and the increasingly dark quality of Mozart’s late style. First performed by Alison Balsom (Tpt) and Iain Farrington (Piano) at Harewood House, near Leeds, on 28th November 2003.
Catchy Tune
